Gwazi gets GCI Millennium Flyer train(s)

^It's pretty ridiculous to have to work at keeping the lapbar at a certain height so we can enjoy our rides, isn't it?

I hope the new Timberliners take care of this. The only safe ratcheting PTC lapbars I know of are at SF Great America on Viper and American Eagle. Vipers are just like the other ratchet bars, but have reverse shocks and only go down to a certain level (about the same as the old buzz bars!) and will not move past that point. Eagles are an old in-house variation, but you have to 'work' to pull them down. I sure wish other woodie lapbars were like these...

I agree. I really enjoyed those woodies at Great America, as well. Viper had a lot of airtime, but in places I wasn’t expecting it to, and not always where I thought it would be (based on Georgia Cyclone). American Eagle was more intense than I thought it would be, and I loved it! The bunny hops coming home had some wicked ejector moments!

Nice signature, by the way. I agree, I have to actually come off the seat to consider something “airtime”, not just be aware of an “uplift force” ;)

^^Georgia Cyclone and Knoebels Twister also have PTCs with stronger-than-average return springs that keep the lapbar where you place it. :)

^Last time I rode GA Cyclone (2007) I spent most of the ride trying to prop myself up somehow to avoid from being injured, so I didn't really notice the lap bars falling or not. Same with Predator, ouch! Both top 5 incredible rides when they opened..

I'm sure Knoebles takes care of their return springs allright - I wouldn't expect any less. But the 'custom fix' or 'option' on the Great America woodies is a fool proof great way, no worries about a bar ever falling past a certain point.

^^Viper has those odd and great moments of air because the train is so darn long! On a cool summer night, she really tears up. Don't miss the 3rd seat. Same with Eagle now that I think of it. Red side of course.

Gwazi may be tempermental but each time I go to Busch Gardens, it's always running great. Either I always luck out and get to the park after the coaster was retracked or I just don't mind the ride quality that others perceive as roughness.

Am I the only one that didn't notice that much of a change between the PTC and MF versions of Hersheypark's Wildcat? The current version of the ride is a little less jarring and also a little less intense, but it still doesn't seem all that different to me. It's not as if the coaster jumped to the top of my list (had I voted in the internet poll last fall, of course.) Also, am I the only one that loathes the MF lapbars? I don't like the way they drop into the rider's lap with absolutely no resistance. I'm not a huge fan of PTCs with ratcheting bars but at least they make an attempt to stay in place. What good is a ride with airtime if you can't even float out of your seat at least an inch or two?

Gwazi has airtime- more than any other GCI coaster I've ridden (the Hershey coasters, the Roar siblings and Kentucky Rumbler, so far)- but I fear that removing the PTCs will either get rid of the airtime or ruin the ability to enjoy it. Maybe Busch wants a smoother Gwazi because the rest of the park's coasters are B&Ms and a Schwarzkopf but one of the great things about Gwazi is that it's unlike the rest of the park's coasters. Not every wood coaster has to be glass-smooth.

One man's roughness is another man's intensity, I've come to figure out :).

I think a lot of people get the 2 confused, seriously. Granted, rides like Psyclone (R.I.Pieces), SoB, and others that are notoriously rough are just that. But yeah, not all wooden coasters have to be glass smooth. Granted, I like El Toro better than Voyage, but not because I felt Voyage was rough. Intense? Yeah. The most intense coaster I've ever ridden. Toro just had a few moments of violent ejector air that Voyage didn't give, though.

But I've been in more than one arguement that Voyage is 'too rough'. And, yes, it has a couple of jarring moments, but I personally would never call it rough. Intense, powerful, strong, and even violent (though not so much witht he airtime), yes. But none of those in a negative way.

And I can't marathon the ride because of the intensity. After I get off, I feel exhausted. In fact, by the time the train hops over the lift hill, I'm exhausted and usually ready for the ride to end right there, but not because it isnt' enjoyable. Still, I don't think it's too rough.

But some people do think that because a ride tires you out and you feel exhausted and a little beaten that it's because the ride is rough. But seriously, the human body goes thru so many forces on some intense rides that you're not feeling that way because it beat you up, it was just that intense. One intense but smooth ride that still makes me kind of feel that way are the Batman clones.

Rob Ascough said:
Am I the only one that loathes the MF lapbars?

Not at all. I really wish GCI (or the parks using MFlyers) would do something to fix this problem that you, and many others, have mentioned.

But besides the restraints, I love those trains...

I dont know about Viper's bars being "safe" seeing as Ive personally had one fully open on me midway on a ride, thankfully it was on a curve and I was able to slam it down before the next airtime hill. The ride attendant didn't seem to vexed by it when I came back, and the ride never went down.

This was in the "bad old days" at least 10 years ago though.

...and the Millennium Flyers are now back getting ready to debut on the "new and improved" Gwazi. Sigh...

http://www.screamscape.com/html/busch_gardens_tampa.htm

Sigh? This is FANTASTIC news!

Gwazi could be known as one of the best GCI coasters, except that it is a very uncomfortable ride. The new trains will help greatly.

I never found it the least bit uncomfortable, in several visits over the last five years. Not trying to say you're wrong for thinking it's rough; just explaining why I personally (and I'm not alone) am sighing at this news. Read the rest of the thread if you care to know why.

I've always thought the "real problem" when Gwazi has been rough is that the wheels get changed....ummm, not too frequently. It's fairly aggressive (Tiger moreso than Lion), and there have been some way-too-rough rides for me to enjoy. When I turn down a back-seat re-ride....well, do the math. Not even front-of-the-train rides are really any better.

If it turns out to be the PTC--> MF Wild-to-Mildcat transformation at Hershey, I'll be bummed. I'm hopeful for better than Hershey got...I'm keeping my expectations low. I have gotten some great rides on Gwazi with Matt in the past, and other times, but more recently....even coming right out of the most recent rehab work....I'm just not happy overall.

As far as the last GCI coaster to run PTCs - I'm REALLY hoping that SFA keeps PTCs on its pretty-fabulous Roar! I think that ride gets the good maintenance, because I think their crew is pretty meticulous (Wild One always seems to run well too)...I have to wonder if wood wouldn't have come to BGW sooner had they really paid attention to *maintenance* of Gwazi, trains and track, from the outset. That thing has taken a real beating, and just isn't getting the good love. "You never stop building a wooden coaster". You really shouldn't stop caring for trains either... ;)

Sorry to get..wordy...but Gwazi's construction brought me into this insane hobby - it saddens me when it runs kinda poopy. Hoping this is a new dawn and that it rises from the proverbial ashes..... ;) :)

If what you're suggesting is that the trains are only half of the problem, I suspect you might be right. I thought Gwazi was terrible, though I haven't been to the park since 2003 or something. I think Wildcat got better, but the betterness left me with the impression that the ride lacks the real gee-whiz moments of many GCI's since. I hope that isn't Gwazi's fate.

I'm so glad I managed a few more rides when I went down there in November. Some of the rides I've had on Gwazi in the past have been just pure. I don't think this will make it a bad ride at all, I just hope this isn't the end of those crazy rides it was capable of where the only thing you could do is get back in line and deal with the mind-numbing operations. I've never seen a more misleading 3 train wait...

^That is one thing I surely remember about the Gwazi operation - one train on each side and VERY slow operations (like you, with not many people in the station).

Makes me really excited about the Timberliners with the quick in and out and only one restraint, but I know, these aren't going on Gwazi.

Perhaps with the MF trains, wear and tear will be less and they will be inclined to use all 4 trains.

I thought Gwazi itself a very wild, great, and interesting ride. All those double ups and double downs. I would say it's my personal favorite of all the GCI coasters - all this newer constantly twisting back and forth is getting a little too formulaic for me. It was a headache machine though...

Wildcat to me was sucky with either train. Gwazi was fun first thing in the morning on my visit, I rode both sides twice

In the afternoon when I came back, Someone used the term CLUNKY and thats exactly what it was to me. A rattle trap the whole darn ride and it was more annoying than painful.

Could only improve it IMHO.

I certainly never minded riding Gwazi, but it's hard to get excited about it one way or the other with all those B&M's and now Cheetah Hunt. I may give each side a spin on my next trip down there, but I wouldn't mind if I missed it either, even with the new MF trains.

I would rather hear that they will consistently duel the trains like they used to, regardless of what trains are used. Or perhaps this is the plan once the Flyers are implemented?

I ask for dueling if it's not overly busy - generally they comply. Feel kinda bad slowing down already-glacial operations, but it VASTLY improves the ride experience.

Opens with MF trains Jan 22nd